The rare daily word game sweeping the globe. Find what's hidden in plain sight.
NEARLY
Definition of NEARLY
adverb
In close approximation; almost, virtually.
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Where it comes from
From near + -ly. Cognate with Scots nerelie, neirlie (“nearly”). Compare also English nearling, nearlings.
Etymology via Wiktionary (CC BY-SA).
Word DNA
How it is built
Its etymology also names Scots.
OUTLIER scores every word on how unusual it is, and that number is not published. Working it out at the board is the game.
NEARLY in OUTLIER
It has fitted 22 boards so far.
It first turned up on Day 69, 28 July 2026. The most recent board was Day 142, 9 October 2026. Nobody has seen it on a board for 3 days.
First found by a player on Day 34, 23 June 2026.
Built from these letters
NEARLY starts with N and ends with Y. Sorted, its letters read AELNRY - the shape to hunt for when the grid is scrambled. No letter is used twice, which makes it an isogram.
Same letters, different word
2 other words use exactly these letters. Worth knowing at the board: an anagram fits a grid the same way.
Could you have found NEARLY?
OUTLIER is a daily word game. One grid, the same grid for everybody, and the words nobody else spots are the ones that pay. This word was on Day 69 - and most players walked straight past it.
Play today's OUTLIER